An episode that is by turns depressing and uplifting. Damn your empty life, Binchou-tan!

Binchou-tan is followed home by a stray dog. She and Chiku-tan decide to raise it under the name of Saji. Shortly after realising the extent of her poverty, Binchou-tan receives a call from Kunugi-tan’s school, offering her regular work. Hurrah for gainful employment!

It’s small things, like realising that her hands are careworn, and much larger things, like enacting the “okaeri/tadaima” ritual by herself that make Binchou-tan such a tragic figure.
The Binchou-tanimators are masters at subtle changes in expression; Binchou-tan’s fake smiles are so sad that you wouldn’t believe it.

Things are looking up for this depressing little girl/coal thing. I can only hope that they keep on going that way, and somewhat faster, too.

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I suppose my inner child is bottled too tightly, because I keep worrying that a dog needs animal protein. Although we may imagine Saji’s intestines made longer magically, thus rendering him capable of digesting Binchou-tan’s normal diet…

When the time finally comes that this gets released in region 1, I’m going to have to think three times about it. It sounds like the kind of thing that could make me collapse in tears, which is not something I enjoy.